Topkapi Palace

For nearly four hundred years Topkapi Palace was the home and seat of government of the Ottoman sultans. It is less a single building than a series of courtyards, pavilions and kitchens spread over the tip of the old city, where the Bosphorus meets the Golden Horn.

Highlights include the Imperial Treasury, with the jewelled Topkapi Dagger and the Spoonmaker’s Diamond, the Holy Relics rooms, the tiled Harem where the sultan’s family lived, and terraces with sweeping views across the water to Asia.

The palace is large and involves a fair amount of walking, so wear comfortable shoes and plan for at least half a day. It closes one day a week, which we build into your Istanbul schedule. The terrace cafés are a pleasant place to rest with a view over the Bosphorus.